2. Running a manual backup

Below are instructions for completing a manual backup using the Graphical User Interface (GUI) on a Mac. For how to use the command line interface to run a backup (i.e. in Terminal), please see our page on the using the TSM client command line interface.

Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) users need to change their sleep settings before backing up. Please see how to configure Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) sleep settings for backup and restore for details.

  1. Close any programs that you are running, where possible. We recommend this because TSM will not be able to back up files that are in use, such as open Word files.

  2. Run [Applications] > [Tivoli Storage Manager] > [TSM Tools for Administrators].

  3. Select [Tivoli Storage Manager] and click OK. You will be asked for your local administrator password.

  4. If this is the first time that you have run a Java application, OS X may prompt you to install Java. Click the Install button and follow the on-screen instructions to install Java.

  5. If this is the first time that you have run the TSM client, OS X may prompt you to allow "dsmagent" to accept incoming connections. Click the Allow button.

  6. The following window will appear. Click on the blue Backup link:

    Figure 1.

  7. The backup window will appear, giving you a choice of areas to back up and listing your backup type as [Incremental (complete)] (which should not be changed):

    Figure 2.

  8. Please do NOT select the tick box next to your nodename. This will cause TSM to try to back up all your drives, including ones mapped/shared from other machines.

  9. Expand the section under Local:

    Figure 3.

  10. You will see tick boxes next to all the local drives attached to your machine. Folders are displayed in the left-hand window, and files on the right. Note that some folders and files are marked with a barred red circle - these are files and folders excluded from backup by default.

  11. Now you can select what you want to back up:

    1. If you wish to back up whole drives, select the tick box beside Local to back up all drives (including external ones) or select each drive individually.

      Figure 4.

    2. Alternatively, you can make a smaller selection of particular files and/or folders for backup, which is recommended if you have a slow internet connection (e.g. if you are backing up from outside the university network). For example, if you wish to select your 'Documents' folder, then you will find this under your username in /Users. The example below shows the Documents folder for user oucs-hfsoucs about to be backed up.

      Figure 5.

  12. When you are happy with your selection for this backup session, click on the Backup button and the backup will commence:

    Figure 6.

  13. During the backup a Task List window will display the backup process:

    Figure 7.

  14. When the backup has completed you will see a Backup completed pop-up appear; click OK.

    Figure 8.

  15. A Backup Report will now be displayed:

    Figure 9.
    This report contains useful information such as:
    • Elapsed time - The time it took for the backup to complete
    • Bytes transferred - The amount of data that has been backed up in total
    • Backed up - The total number of files that have been backed up in total.

    You may wish to click on View to see what files, if any, failed - these were probably open or in use during the backup.

  16. Click on the red circle to close down the report.

You should now have completed a successful backup of your local system! If this was your first backup and you want to run automatic scheduled backups, then please now see our page on preparing for scheduled backups. Please note that your selection of drives and/or folders in this session will not be saved by TSM - if you wish for certain items not to be included in your scheduled backups, please see our section on how to exclude files and folders from backup.

Backup unsuccessful? Use the Mac Help and Support section to troubleshoot your backup issues.

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